Longevity and genes

Aging and longevity genes.

The genetics of aging has made substantial strides in the past decade. This progress has been confined primarily to model organisms, such as filamentous fungi, yeast, nematodes, fruit flies, and mice, in which some thirty-five genes that determine life span have been cloned. These genes encode a wide array of cellular functions, indicating that there must be multiple mechanisms of aging. Nevert...

Genome Sequencing Fishes out Longevity Genes

Understanding the molecular basis underlying aging is critical if we are to fully understand how and why we age-and possibly how to delay the aging process. Up until now, most longevity pathways were discovered in invertebrates because of their short lifespans and availability of genetic tools. Now, Reichwald et al. and Valenzano et al. independently provide a reference genome for the short-liv...

Unlocking the secrets of longevity genes.

How diet interacts with longevity genes

In laboratory mice, suppression of growth hormone (GH) signaling by spontaneous mutations or targeted disruption of GHor IGF1-related genes can lead to an impressive increase of longevity. Hypopituitary Ames dwarf (Prop1) and GH receptor knockout (GHRKO) mice live 35-70% longer than their normal littermates. Many phenotypic characteristics of these longlived mutants resemble findings in genetic...

Longevity genes: from primitive organisms to humans.

Recent results indicate that the longevity of both invertebrates and vertebrates can be altered through genetic manipulation and pharmacological intervention. Most of these interventions involve alterations of one or more of the following: insulin/IGF-I signaling pathway, caloric intake, stress resistance and nuclear structure. How longevity regulation relates to aging per se is less clear, but...